LinkedIn did the full release to everyone now of their Quick Connect Scan Code and this is how to get yours!Open the app on your phone; Click on the search bar icon for "more options" which opens up the next part.

This is the LinkedIn Code Reader or how to download your own "My Code" . Note at the bottom you can scan from photos.... I would use this during conferences and speaking gigs here myself.... How would you use it?

Here is the finished product of which you can keep the photo with the code or download without the photo option. Feel free to test it out and connect with me for more tips over the years of all sorts of digital media and business.

I will try to type this with more of the digital / social media aspect vs only for businesses in general; otherwise we would be here all month trying to explain everything. Let’s start with the meanings then work toward the breakdown of why businesses over the world need to pay attention.

Http: Hackers can reverse engineer and get ALL information. Google, Facebook, Chrome, Firefox all rank and downgrade Http sites.

Https: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure which requires SSL

SSL: Secure Sockets Layer sometimes said as Binary Protocol ~ in simple terms “encrypting” the online data between visitor’s browser and the server. It’s a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of your website and other details with encryption key that is unique to you. Think of it as Morse code back in the day! SSL/TLS is also requirement for PCI Compliance (Payment Card Industry)

TLS: Transport Layer Security ~ This is the newer form of SSL and the most recent version labeled TLS 1.3 with 1.2 being standard.

We see websites all the time with plain old Http at the start. So why does any of this even matter to anyone? As it stands right now a very low percentage *29% of ALL the websites have Secure Sockets Layer. (*NetTrack) Think about this for a moment; over 1 billion websites on the internet and 710,000,000 of them are unsecured. Here you are typing in name, address, phone numbers, ID or even your banking information. Think of membership sites that have 3rd party logins. Then on top of it you have the forms and documents you might upload onto a site thinking it’s secure.

So how do we figure out if a website is more secure? When typing in the address you will get warnings that pop up or flash from both Firefox & Chrome who are doing this even more this year. Two other ways to see if a website is secure; most will start with Https or look for the Lock Symbol at the start of the browser. Green Lock means whole site is secure and Orange can mean a few different things; certificate not current or only part of the site might be secure. Red of course means no security.

Why does any of this truly matter for you the business owner?

Trust and Conversions from your customers; which means on average 73% more sales for your business and even higher numbers for organic CTR (click through rate).

The EU GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation: Enforcement starting May 25, 2018 and this applies to everyone.

Higher Mobile Speed Boost

Better Browser Search Rankings

Fights Against Phishing Attacks/Spam

SEO Ranking

Future Proofing: We all know security in all forms is needed and why not be ready for the changes that will be implemented.

Be careful on which SSL/TLS you get because 23,000+ were recalled in Feb/March 2018. Moreover, here are a few more topics that I am not going in-depth on but still need to be talked about. For most people it will be best to go ahead and buy/install whole site SSL certificate vs only doing it for certain pages on a website. Two other things that tie into this HIPAA and Blockchain. Lastly, you will want to visit this website to see if your emails have been compromised in a data breach: HaveIBeenPwned.com

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulates telemarketing calls, auto-dialed calls, prerecorded calls, text messages, and unsolicited faxes. But there’s more to it than that. There are many government and state agency's you have to learn guidelines and laws to. Better yet have an attorney draw up your companies privacy policies and procedures. Why is this even important? Look into last year's 2017 TCPA Dish Network having to "dish out 341M" because of their violation of TCPA. Below is a short overview:

Dedicated short codes are unique to each individual business but expensive to rent. There are two types of dedicated short codes - “random” and “vanity”. “Random” dedicated short codes are a random combination of numbers (for example 468591), whereas “vanity” short codes are those which are easiest to remember (for example 112233). You could also use a vanity short code if your business had a six-letter name that could be spelled on a keypad (for example Costco = 267826).

Random short codes I suggest using for one off events or if the business has to save monies starting out. Vanity Short Codes are great for repetitive events, restaurant specials, or custom branding of the business that has a more established customer base. ***side note here: Even if you have email permission please make sure to get new Text Marketing Opt-in.

Regulations:

Mobile marketing can be a great tool for your business, but you should know that SMS marketing is not a free-for-all. There are some laws and best practices you should follow and consider when you plan your campaigns.

TCPAThe TCPA, or Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which was developed by the FCC, has some laws that you need to be sure you follow while you’re collecting contacts and sending out text messages. Not everything in the TCPA applies to text message marketing, but it’s still a good idea to review these laws and be sure you are compliant with them. Some protocols you want to be sure you follow include:

Get permission from every contact before you start sending mass text messages to themOnly send text messages between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm. Remember that this is in the time zone of the person you are texting and not necessarily the time zone from which you are sending messages.

CTIA & MMAThe CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association) and MMA (Mobile Marketing Association) have similar guidelines on how to appropriately use text message marketing. These guidelines are not laws, but they do provide best practices you should consider following.Some of these best practices include:

Don’t use the term “free” unless you have a free-to-end-user program.All advertising should include program name, production description and quality, link to terms and conditions, stop instructions, and the message and data rates may apply message.Or, you can have all this information available when the customer texts HELP.Have opt-in approval prior to sending messagesYou must allow your customer the option of opting outOpt-in and opt-out records should be maintained for at least six monthsYou should not directly advocate the use of tobacco, alcohol or other drugsAge verification may be required for some text message marketing campaigns